The personal dignity of Melchizedec and the importance of his
priesthood; the only thing testified of him

The epistle, returning to the subject of Melchizedec, reviews
therefore the dignity of his person and the importance of his
priesthood. For on priesthood, as a means of drawing nigh to God,
the whole system connected with it depended.

Melchizedec then (a typical and characteristic person, as the
use of his name in Psalm 110 proves) was king of Salem, that is
king of peace, and, by name, king of righteousness. Righteousness
and peace characterise his reign. But above all he was priest of
the Most High God. This is the name of God as supreme Governor of
all things -- Possessor, as is added in Genesis, of heaven and
earth. It is thus that Nebuchadnezzar, the humbled earthly
potentate, acknowledged Him. It was thus He revealed Himself to
Abraham, when Melchizedec blessed the patriarch after he had
conquered his enemies. In connection with his walk of faith, the
name of God for Abraham was "The Almighty." Here Abraham,
victorious over the kings of the earth, is blessed by Melchizedec,
by the king of righteousness, in connection with God as Possessor
of heaven and earth, the Most High. This looks onward to the
royalty of Christ, a Priest upon His throne, when by the will and
the power of God He shall have triumphed over all His enemies -- a
time not yet arrived -- first fulfilled in the millennium, as it is
commonly expressed, though this rather refers to the earthly
part. Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedec. His royalty was not all,
for Psalm 110 is very clear in describing Melchizedec as priest,
and as possessing a lasting and uninterrupted priesthood. He had no
sacerdotal parentage from whom he derived his priesthood. As a
priest, he had neither father nor mother; unlike the sons of Aaron,
he had no genealogy (compare Ezra 2: 62); he had no limits assigned
to the term of his priestly service, as was the case with the sons
of Aaron (Num. 4: 3). He was made a priest, like -- in his priestly
character -- to the Son of God; but, as yet, the latter is in
heaven.

The fact that he received tithes from Abraham, and that he
blessed Abraham, showed the high and pre-eminent dignity of this
otherwise unknown and mysterious personage. The only thing that is
testified of him -- without naming father or mother, commencement
of life, or death that may have taken place -- is that he
lived.

The dignity of his person was beyond that of Abraham, the
depositary of the promises; that of his priesthood was above
Aaron's, who in Abraham paid the tithes which Levi himself received
from his brethren. The priesthood then is changed, and with it the
whole system that depended on it.

Proofs that the priesthood and its whole system were
changed

Psalm 110 interrupted by faith in Christ -- for the epistle, we
need not say, speaks always to Christians -- is still the point on
which its argument is founded. The first proof then, that the whole
was changed, is that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah (a Priest after
the order of Melchizedec), did not spring evidently from the
sacerdotal tribe, but from another, namely, that of Judah. For that
Jesus was the Messiah, they believed. But, according to the Jewish
scriptures, the Messiah was such as He is here presented; and in
that case the priesthood was changed, and with it the whole
system. And this was not only a consequence that must be drawn from
the fact that the Messiah was of the tribe of Judah, although a
Priest; but it was requisite that another priest than the priest of
Aaron's family should arise, and one after the similitude of
Melchizedec, who should not be after the law of a commandment which
had no more power than the flesh to which it was applied, but who
should be according to the power of a never ending life. The
testimony of the psalm to this was positive: "Thou art a priest for
ever after the order of Melchizedec."

The bringing in of a better hope; the law and God's grace

For there is in fact a disannulling of the commandment that
existed previously, because it was unprofitable (for the law
brought nothing to perfection); and there is the bringing in of a
better hope, by which we draw nigh to God.

Precious difference! A commandment to man, sinful and afar from
God, replaced by a hope, a confidence, founded on grace and on
divine promise, through which we can come even into God's
presence.

The law, doubtless, was good; but separation still subsisted
between man and God. The law made nothing perfect. God was ever
perfect, and human perfection was required; all must be according
to what divine perfection required of man. But sin was there, and
the law was consequently without power (save to condemn); its
ceremonies and ordinances were but figures, and a heavy yoke. Even
that which temporarily relieved the conscience brought sin to mind
and never made the conscience perfect towards God. They were still
at a distance from Him. Grace brings the soul to God, who is known
in love and in a righteousness which is for us.

The superiority of the new priesthood and its covenant; Jesus'
priesthood compared with that of Aaron

The character of the new priesthood bore the stamp, in all its
features, of its superiority to that which existed under the order
of the law and with which the whole system of the law either stood
or fell.

The covenant connected with the new priesthood answered likewise
to the superiority of the latter over the former priesthood. The
priesthood of Jesus was established by oath; that of Aaron was
not.

The priesthood of Aaron passed from one person to another,
because death put an end to its exercise by the individuals who
were invested with it. But Jesus abides the same for ever; He has
a priesthood that is not transmitted to others. Thus He saves
completely, and to the end, those that come unto God by Him, seeing
that He ever lives to intercede for them.

The Christian's position; our need met by the One whom heaven's
purity and glory required; a completed work

Accordingly "such a high priest became us." Glorious thought!
Called to be in the presence of God, to be in relationship with Him
in the heavenly glory, to draw near to Him on high, where nothing
that defiles can enter, we needed a High Priest in the place to
which access was given us (as the Jews in the earthly temple), and
such a One as the glory and purity of heaven required. What a
demonstration that we belong to heaven, and of the exalted nature
of our relationship with God! Such a Priest became us: "Holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, exalted above the
heavens" -- for so are we, as to our position, having to do with
God there -- a Priest who needs not to renew the sacrifices, as
though any work to put away sin still remained to be done, or their
sins could still be imputed to believers; for then it would be
impossible to stay in the heavenly sanctuary. As having once for
all completed His work for the putting away of sin, our Priest
offered His sacrifice once for all when He offered up Himself.

The high priests under the law contrasted with the Son of God

For the law made high priests who had the infirmities of men,
for they were men themselves; the oath of God, which came after the
law, establishes the Son, when He is perfected for ever,
consecrated in heaven unto God.

We see here that, although there was an analogy and the figures
of heavenly things, there is more of contrast than of comparison in
this epistle. The legal priests had the same infirmities as other
men; Jesus has a glorified priesthood according to the power of an
endless life.